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When DJ Uiagalelei entered the transfer portal again, there was no doubt where the former Clemson and Oregon State quarterback envisioned going.
“My eyes were set on one school,” Uiagalelei said recently. “I wanted to be here at Florida State.”
He got his wish, joining the Seminoles in January. And when FSU spring practice begins Tuesday, we’ll get our first glimpse at whether the potentially awkward, somewhat unlikely and utterly fascinating partnership will work out.
It’s easy to see why Uiagalelei wanted to join the Seminoles. Coach Mike Norvell just took another transfer quarterback (Jordan Travis) and helped him become a star. Norvell did the same at Memphis with Riley Ferguson (Tennessee/juco) and Brady White (Arizona State). Uiagalelei can be the next.
Uiagalelei also has personal knowledge of FSU’s climb. In 2021, he quarterbacked Clemson to a 10-point win over Norvell’s ‘Noles. The Tigers outgained FSU 377-241.
A year later, Clemson needed all four of Uiagalelei’s touchdowns to hold off FSU for a six-point win. This time, the Seminoles outgained the Tigers 460-370, and Uiagalelei could see Clemson’s rival was “going to be a force to be reckoned with.”
Then last year, Uiagalelei followed from afar as FSU started 13-0 start (and won at Clemson for the first time since 2013).
“It looked like the old Florida State,” Uiagalelei said.
Whether the 2024 Seminoles still look like the old Florida State will, in part, come down to Uiagalelei. If he lives up to his five-star billing in the 2020 recruiting class, FSU will make the expanded 12-team playoff. Though the cast around him is new, it’s talented enough for the ’Noles to repeat as ACC champions.
But that’s far from a given. Uiagalelei was mediocre at Clemson (31 touchdown passes, 17 interceptions and a completion percentage of 58.8)…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/why-dj-uiagalelei-only-wanted-100000562.html
Author : Tampa Bay Times, St. Petersburg, Fla.
Publish date : 2024-03-18 10:00:00
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